Video Transcription
Jules Scheltes 00:02
Hi. My name is Jules Scheltes. I'm here together with my co-founder, Wilson Metas, and in this presentation, I would like to talk about our ambition for a global deployment of our clever and affordable, steerable laparoscopic instruments. Just to give you an insight into the product that we already have on the market, this is our Lap Flex device. It's an instrument for laparoscopic procedures, procedures through small holes in the abdominal wall, in the abdominal cavity. And what you see over here is that we make these instruments steerable, so you can activate the distal end of the device in the direction of the tissue plane that you want to do your procedure on. You can work over organs and around other instruments, and this helps the surgeon to avoid a lot of hassle during his procedure. But I'd like to zoom out a little bit first. What do you see right now in the laparoscopic device market? The rise of robots. This is just a list of laparoscopic robots currently entering the market, but these robots come with a price. They are expensive to buy, but also the use per procedure is quite costly. We estimate that the additional cost for using a robot in surgery is between two and a half and 4,000 euros. This means that only primary use in high-income countries is possible. 80% of the world at this moment cannot have access to the robot, and this is where the Lap Flex comes in. What we provide is one of the key features of a surgical robot: maneuverability. You can articulate the distal end of your instrument, a grasper or a scissor, in any direction. We also see that a recent survey among German surgeons shows that 80% of the surgeons would like to have maneuverability in their instruments, and if you combine it with the advancements in imaging technologies—3D, 4K—is already on the market, ICD, fluorescence, and recognition of anatomical structures. If you see an anatomical structure better, you want to reach it better. These are just some numbers to give you an idea of the market for laparoscopic devices. It is huge. It is growing, and at this moment, with the current Lap Flex device, we target about 30% of this market. So with 30% of all laparoscopic procedures, we think the Lap Flex has added value for a hospital. We aim for the semi-complex procedures in high-income countries and high-complex procedures in middle-income countries. So if you take 30% of all laparoscopic surgeries being performed, you still have quite a big market. Why are we here? Then we're here to raise money for the further development of our Lap Flex devices. But the 30% is not enough for us. We'd like to have more. We'd like to have a coverage of maybe 90% of all laparoscopic procedures using our instruments. And this is where the next generation of the Lap Flex comes in. I'm the founder of the company together with my colleague, and I've witnessed the use of our current device many, many times in the surgical field, and we got a lot of feedback from surgeons, and we know what we have to make in the next generation. So this is a list of things that we have to implement. We have to extend the number of end effectors on the devices: bipolar surgery, suturing devices. The pricing should be reduced so that it's a cost-effective proposition for a hospital. Additional functions are implemented in the next generation, and this will eliminate the learning curve. We already have a very short learning curve, but the next generation will be completely self-evident to use. Sustainability is very important. We will reduce the number of disposable parts in the device, and this will lead to a broader coverage of our steerable laparoscopic devices. Now, if we zoom in on the user, why would a surgeon use one of our devices for the current model? So it is the maneuverability, and compared to competitors, which also have handheld steerable devices, we have a very short learning curve. Within one to three procedures, they are already used to using our instruments, where we have competitive pricing. And the last one is important: we are a unique product, so we are not in conflict with any deals that hospitals make with the larger medical device companies. For the next generation device, this proposition will even become more attractive for surgeons. The question is, can we do it? We are a company, and I'm quite proud of it. We are at this moment, with 15 people in the company, and we do everything ourselves. We do our own assembly. We have done our own CE registration, which is for both a Class IIa and a Class IIb device. We have a reliable supply chain. We do it ourselves, and we can do it. We've proven that we can do it with the current device on the market. We see this global deployment happening. Why is it the right time? Everybody wants to have steerable devices. Every surgeon wants to have steerable devices. Our device is very easy to use. They have an affordable proposition for hospitals. We have no objections or obstructions in hospitals. We have an answer to the sustainability wave that's flowing, and we already see the word of mouth from surgeons using our devices. So in summary, there is a need for handheld, steerable devices. We already have a product on the market. The next generation will even extend the use of our devices, and we can do it. We have a proven track record. So I'd like to invite you to join us in our autumn finance round and help us with the global deployment of a clever and affordable steerable laparoscopic instrument. Thank you very much. Applause.
